Rodrigo Borgia
Summary Rodrigo Borgia (1431 – 1503), born Roderic Llançol i de Borja, was the head of the Catholic Church from 11 August 1492 until his death, reigning as Pope Alexander VI. From 1476, he served as Grand Master of the Italian Rite of the Templar Order. Originally hailing from Spain, Rodrigo moved to Italy where he studied and joined the Catholic Church, eventually becoming a cardinal. Using the influence he gained from his clerical position, Rodrigo conspired several plots to murder political leaders across the country to claim it under the Templar banner. As one of the wealthiest men in Europe, Rodrigo's power as Grand Master spread all over the continent. In 1488, Rodrigo was responsible for shipping an Apple of Eden from Cyprus to Venice, before it was stolen by his arch-enemy, Ezio Auditore da Firenze and his fellow Italian Assassins. In 1492, via several bribes and power plays, Rodrigo won the Papal conclave, and became one of the most controversial Renaissance popes. Under the leadership of the Borgia, the Templars focused primarily on establishing their power and control in Europe, losing sight of their true ideology. The Templars commonly refer to this era as the "Dark Age of the Order". In 1499 Ezio confronted Rodrigo one last time, and defeated the old man in unarmed combat. Broken by this defeat, Rodrigo asked Ezio to end his life, to which the Assassin refused. Additionally, the knowledge that he was not the Prophet, as he had believed, was an even sorer blow than anything else that Ezio could have thought of. When Rodrigo's son Cesare learned of this, he led a siege on Monteriggioni, though without Rodrigo's approval, in order to reacquire the Apple of Eden and kill the last of the Assassins. By this time, Rodrigo was reduced to nothing but a figurehead, with Cesare ultimately taking over Rome. Broken by his defeat in the Vault, Rodrigo gave up on fighting the Assassin Order and instead chose to attempt to preserve the Templars' power in Rome. However, Cesare was eager to take over all of Italy, a plan that Rodrigo did not approve of. As the Captain General of the Papal armies, however, Cesare held control over Rodrigo's military, and so he was able to carry out his plans without his father's consent. A string of bad luck followed Rodrigo after the events in the Vault: in June 1500, an iron steeple from the roof of St. Peter's fell a few feet away from where he was walking. The next day, he was in a room in the Vatican that collapsed and killed everyone around him: only a piece of canopy wedged above him saved his life. A few weeks later, he grew ill from fever, and at the end of the year, he was charged by a stag during a hunting trip. In August 1503, at Juan Borgia's Pagan party, Rodrigo spoke to Cesare and reprimanded him, only to have his son brush aside his concerns and remind him of who was 'truly' in charge. Even though the Assassins had already uprooted many of the Templars plots and officials in Rome over the course of the year, Rodrigo did little to stop them. Later that month, Rodrigo, already heavily displeased with Cesare's ambition and entitlement, believed his son to be out of control. Fearing Cesare would jeopardize everything he had worked to maintain, Rodrigo decided that his best option would be to remove Cesare. To achieve this, he seized Lucrezia's supply of cantarella – the same poison that had been used for Doge Mocenigo – and poisoned a few apples for Cesare to unwittingly eat. However, Rodrigo's daughter Lucrezia discovered the theft of the poison, and warned Cesare about it before he could ingest enough for the toxin to kill him. Enraged, Cesare promptly spat out what he had eaten, before shoving the remaining apple down Rodrigo's throat. Rodrigo perished before Ezio arrived to kill him, but Ezio nevertheless gave Rodrigo his final blessing. Powers and Stats Tier: 9-B physically, higher with his sword, and even higher with the Staff of Eden Name: Rodrigo Borgia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja, Alexander VI, "the Spaniard", "Maestro", "Bull of Alba in the harbor" Origin: Assassin's Creed Gender: Male Age: 72 at time of his death Classification: Human, pope, priest, Knights' Templar agent, Grand Master of the Italian Rite of the Templar Order Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Master Fighter, Pressure Point Strikes, Skilled swordsman. Later gains access to Statistics Amplification, Enhanced Senses, Invisibility, Mind Control, Shockwave Inducement, Status Effect Inducement, Death Manipulation, Energy Manipulation and Projection, Telekinesis, limited Flight and many more abilities with the Staff of Eden Attack Potency: Wall level+ physically (Traded blows with Giovanni Auditore. Later fought with his son Ezio several times, one of which was in unarmed hand-to-hand combat. Could easily draw blood from an Armor of Altaïr-equipped Ezio with his strikes without the aid of the Staff and could harm the projections made by the Apple of Eden), higher with his sword, and even higher with the Staff of Eden (Became considerably superior to his previous self. Easily sent Ezio flying with a single blast from his Staff and knocked everyone down and out in the process) Speed: Supersonic (Kept pace with Ezio and his Apple-generated clones during their battles), higher with the Staff of Eden Lifting Strength: At least Class 5 (Pushed back Ezio many times in their confrontations, although Ezio ultimately overpowered him in all of them), higher with the Staff of Eden Striking Strength: Wall Class+, higher with the Staff of Eden Durability: Wall level+ (Took hits from Giovanni in 1476 and his son Ezio while the latter was equipped with the Sword of Altaïr. One of his many misfortunes involved being charged by a stag by the end of the year 1500), higher with the Staff of Eden (This allowed him to survive a full-powered air assassination from Ezio) Stamina: Peak Human+ Range: Standard melee range, extended melee range with his sword, several meters with staff Standard Equipment: A schiavona (Later discards it), Papal Staff Intelligence: A manipulative strategist who conspired his way into becoming one of the most rich and politically powerful men in Europe. Master combatant in swordsmanship and CQC. Weaknesses: Standard human weaknesses, rather obsessed with power. Others Notable Victories: Notable Losses: Inconclusive Matches: Category:Assassin's Creed Category:Game Characters Category:Final Bosses Category:Villains Category:Antagonists Category:Mind Users Category:Telekinesis Users Category:Invisibility Users Category:Weapon Masters Category:Tier 9 Category:Evil Characters Category:Fathers Category:Husbands Category:Ubisoft Category:Templars Category:Male Characters Category:Characters Category:Primary Antagonists Category:Martial Artists Category:Flight Users Category:Priests Category:Sword Users Category:Spear Users Category:Parents Category:Game Bosses Category:Pressure Point Users Category:Tyrants Category:Sadists Category:Shockwave Users Category:Enhanced Senses Users Category:Seduction Users